Takedown Report

The NCAA desperately needs to optimize its winter championship schedule

While all eyes generally fall on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament this time of year, a number of other NCAA championships are being contested during the months of March and April. Some collegiate sports, like wrestling and ice hockey, have developed cult-like followings and sizeable television audiences in recent years.
Unfortunately, these championships are likely stunted from an audience-maximization perspective because they often compete directly with the men’s basketball tournament. However, shifting the schedule might allow them to blossom into more significant viewership events.
Wrestling and ice hockey are the most obvious candidates for this treatment. Still, despite the product’s already-built popularity, the women’s basketball tournament should consider it as well.
In this column, we’ll examine how all four of these winter championships—wrestling, men’s and women’s ice hockey, and women’s basketball—could strategically shift their schedules to attract larger television audiences.
As with all NCAA championship events except men’s basketball, ESPN is the exclusive broadcast partner. Last year, it re-upped a media rights deal with the NCAA for $115 million annually.
So without further ado, let’s get to the changes.
Wrestling
This year’s NCAA Wrestling Championships took place over three days from Thursday, March 20, to Saturday, March 22. Wrestling is quite possibly the most egregious scheduling blunder of all NCAA championship events. The three days on which the Championships are contested align with the first three days of the men’s basketball tournament.
Of course, the first two rounds of the men’s basketball tournament take all of the oxygen out of the sports world. … more at … https://awfulannouncing.com/ncaa/optimize-winter-championship-schedule-womens-basketball.html

April 13, 2025 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized